NEO's NFL draft bid includes first three rounds at Public Auditorium, free Cleveland-Canton shuttle, more

The 2017 NFL draft produced an estimated economic impact of almost $95 million for Philadelphia.

Northeast Ohio's bid to host the NFL draft involves one of Cleveland's most iconic meeting places, a Canton landmark that celebrates football's history and even free shuttles between the two cities.

If Cleveland and Canton are selected to host the 2019 or 2020 draft, the first two days would be held at Public Auditorium in Cleveland, with the action shifting to the Pro Football Hall of Fame for the final four rounds on Saturday, officials from the Cleveland Browns and Greater Cleveland Sports Commission said Monday, April 23.

The sports commission, the Browns and the Hall of Fame submitted a joint bid to host the draft last year. The list of 22 interested cities was then trimmed to eight, and the Cleveland-Canton bid was announced as one of five finalists — along with Denver, Kansas City, Nashville and Las Vegas — in February.

The NFL is expected to announce the 2019 and '20 draft hosts during its spring meetings in Atlanta from May 21-23. The theme for Northeast Ohio's bid is "Bring it home," which is a reference to the American Professional Football Association (renamed the NFL two years later) being founded in Canton on Sept. 17, 1920.

"When you look at the whole 'Bring it home' (theme), I think it was important when all the groups got together to have one unified message," sports commission president and CEO David Gilbert said. "This wasn't about just Cleveland, it wasn't about just Canton, it was how do you unify the tremendous history of the Browns and what it's meant for many, many decades to Cleveland, along with certainly the 100th anniversary and the Pro Football Hall of Fame? To us, it created a very compelling story of why one of those two years would make a lot of sense."

The NFL's 100th season will kick off in 2019, and the league will celebrate its centennial in 2020, with the Hall of Fame planning to host a large event in its honor.

The Northeast Ohio proposal includes a dinner in Canton on the Wednesday of draft week that would include Hall of Famers. Public Auditorium would then be the site of Round 1 on Thursday, and the second and third rounds the following day, before Canton hosts Rounds 4-7 on Saturday. Gilbert said there would also be a fan fest in downtown Cleveland that would utilize Public Square, the malls and the Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland.

There would also be a free shuttle between Cleveland and Canton during draft week, which Gilbert said would create "one experience" for visitors.

The 2017 NFL draft in Philadelphia had a projected economic impact of $94.9 million, which beat the original estimate by almost $15 million. Philly produced a record draft attendance of 250,000, with more than half of the visitors from outside the region, and drew 1,800 media members. This week's draft is being held at AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, in Arlington, Texas.

The 2017 draft produced 18,991 room nights at Philadelphia-area hotels and $2.1 million in additional hotel revenue, according to a study done by Temple University's Sport Industry Research Center. Gilbert said he expects that the NFL draft would have a similar impact on Northeast Ohio.

"I believe from a people standpoint and an out-of-towner standpoint, other than hosting another political convention, I don't know of an event that Cleveland could host that would have as large of an impact for one event," Gilbert said.

Cleveland and Canton were the last stops on the NFL's tour of the five finalists. The group from the league toured Public Auditorium and the Hall of Fame on March 29, then returned to Cleveland for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony at Public Auditorium on April 14.

"It actually worked out great because they saw Public Hall (on the site visit), and we said, 'Boy, if you can come back and see it as beautiful as it is when it's all dressed up.' And it was really cool that a couple of their chief staff people and some other folks were able to come back as well," Gilbert said.

David Jenkins, a Browns executive vice president and the team's chief financial officer, said the three Northeast Ohio groups have submitted "a really strong bid." In four weeks, the Browns, the sports commission and the Hall of Fame are hoping to hear some welcome news from the league meetings.

"There is no doubt in our mind that we can execute this and give fans in this community an incredible experience," Jenkins said.

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